Food for thought

Do we know where our food comes from? About 75% of our food is bought from supermarkets and supermarkets buy lots of their food from abroad.

The average distance that food travels to reach our plate has doubled over the past 20 years. Food that can easily be grown in this country is often imported from hundreds or even thousands of miles away, burning up fuel which is adding to dangerous climate change.

UK farmers have been forced to sell their produce at lower prices to compete with other countries and many can no longer make a living from growing food.

Friends of the Earth want to see more local food sold locally in farmers markets or shops, and fair payment to farmers for their produce.

We can help by shopping locally and buying direct from farmers instead of shopping in supermarkets. Find a farmers' market near you.

Growing your own vegetables is the best way to guarantee yourself fresh food without clocking up any food miles. If you have a garden at home ask your parents if you can use an area to grow vegetables or get your school to start a vegetable garden.

Find out more by reading our Food & farming (PDF † format - 1044K) booklet.

†To view PDF files you will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Visually impaired users can get extra help with these documents from access.adobe.com.

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